The name dispute between Athens and Skopje is jeopardizing the efforts of the European Union and NATO to stabilize the Western Balkans, the International Crisis Group said in a report.

Marking Macedonia as a “relative success story” after the 2001 armed conflict with ethnic Albanian insurgents, the think-tank notes that the progress that has been made since in inter-ethnic relations through the promise of EU and NATO integration now hangs in balance.

“This is more than a bilateral dispute between Skopje and Athens. It risks derailing the main strategy of both NATO and the EU for stabilising Macedonia and the region, based on enlargement and integration”, warns Donald Steinberg, Crisis Group Deputy President.

“Member states should not allow the organisations’ credibility to fall victim to an intractable dispute involving one of their fellow members” the report states.

In April, Athens blocked Skopje’s NATO invitation arguing that the name Macedonia implies territorial claims over its own northern province with the same name. Greece now threatens to do the same with Macedonia's EU entry.

“After Greece blocked Macedonia’s NATO entry at the April 2008 Bucharest summit, relations between the two countries deteriorated to levels not seen since the early 1990s” when the row started shortly after Macedonia declared independence from the former Yugoslavia, the ICG notes.

ICG proposes that Macedonia should reverse its decision to rename its airport after Alexander the Great and desist from similar moves that provoke Athens by invoking the ancient historical heritage claimed by both states. Skopje should publicly state its readiness to accept the latest proposal of the UN mediator in the row for a the name “Republic of North Macedonia” for full international use.

In return Athens should acknowledge the national identity of its northern neighbour as “Macedonian” provided that Skopje pledges once again it holds no territorial claims towards Greece, and drop its veto threats at NATO and the EU.

The dispute touches existential nerves, especially in Macedonia, and has serious regional implications, the ICG said, urging the EU and NATO members to work more at encouraging both countries towards reaching an agreement.

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/15947/